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MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Ahead of U.S.-Iran talks scheduled for this weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday that Israel would lead any potential military strikes against Iran if Tehran fails to end its nuclear weapons program. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian pledged yesterday that his country is "not after a nuclear bomb." [more]
• At least 23 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in northern Gaza yesterday, according to Palestinian health officials. The Israeli military says the strike targeted a senior Hamas militant who coordinated terrorist attacks. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1141 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Britain and France are chairing a summit at NATO headquarters today of defense ministers from about 30 countries – the so-called 'coalition of the willing" – to discuss plans for the possible deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force to Ukraine following any future peace agreement. A second meeting of about 50 countries' defense ministers is planned for tomorrow to discuss military aid to Ukraine. The United States is not expected to take part in either meeting. [more]
• In an interview published yesterday, Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said that a new Russian offensive focusing on the Kharkiv and Sumy regions of Ukraine has begun with a near doubling of the number of Russian attacks on the regions. [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on imposing sweeping new trade tariffs for most countries yesterday, sparking a massive stock market recovery following days of significant declines. Trump said a 10% across-the-board tariff would remain in place for all countries and that levies on goods imported from China would be increased to 125%. U.S. market futures are down this morning amidst continued economic uncertainty and concern over the tariffs still in place. [more]

U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT | In a pair of executive actions yesterday, President Donald Trump stripped security clearances from two officials from his first administration and directed the Justice Department to investigate their actions. The subjects of Trump's orders are Miles Taylor, a former Department of Homeland Security official who published a book critical of Trump, and Chris Krebs, a former top cybersecurity official who has been criticized by Trump for declaring the 2020 presidential election to have been secure and accurate. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | The Department of Homeland Security says its Citizenship and Immigration Services agency will begin reviewing and considering activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests by persons applying for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students, and aliens affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity. [press release] [more]

U.S. FEDERAL WORKFORCE | The Supreme Court yesterday temporarily paused a lower court ruling that blocked the firing of two board members who oversee independent federal agencies – Gwynne Wilcox of the National Labor Relations Board and Cathy Harris of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Chief Justice John Roberts called on Wilcox and Harris to present additional information by next week. [more]

U.S. MAIL | The U.S. Postal Service has proposed a new 5-cent increase in the cost of a first-class stamp – from 73 cents to 78 cents. If approved, the increase would take effect July 13 and be the seventh stamp price increase since 2020. [more]

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | Among several actions in the House yesterday were:

• Speaker Mike Johnson delayed a vote late last night on a proposed Trump administration-backed budget framework. Reports say the delay came amidst opposition to the measure from multiple GOP holdouts over implementing large tax breaks without associated spending cuts. [more]
• The House voted 219-213 yesterday to approve a measure that would limit the scope of injunctive relief ordered by federal district judges to parties before the court – preventing them, in effect, from issuing nationwide orders. The measure is not expected to pass in the Senate. [more]
• Following passage of a similar measure by the Senate, the House voted – largely along party lines – yesterday to overturn a Biden-era rule that limited bank overdraft fees to $5. President Trump is expected to sign the measure into law. [more]

U.S. DEPORTATIONS | Federal judges in New York and Texas yesterday temporarily barred the federal government from deporting suspected Venezuelan gang members under the Alien Enemies Act in parts of those two states. The judicial actions come after the Supreme Court ruled that deportations under the Act can take place but that deportees must be afforded some due process and have reasonable time to argue to a judge that they should not be deported. [more]

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION | Vowing to "make America's showers great again," President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday aimed at rescinding a water and energy conservation rule that limited water flow levels by shower heads and other appliances such as toilets and dishwashers. [more]

NORTH DAKOTA | A Keystone oil pipeline spill in rural North Dakota earlier this week has shut down operation of the entire pipeline as repair and cleanup efforts continue. The cause of the pipeline rupture, which spilled an estimated 147,000 gallons of oil, remains under investigation. [more]

GLOBAL MARKETS | Following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of a 90-day pause on so-called reciprocal tariffs on goods from most countries yesterday, global markets are up sharply today, including Germany's DAX up 8%, Britain's FTSE up 5.4%, and Japan's Nikkei up 9.1%. [more]

MEXICO AND BRAZIL | On the sidelines of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States summit in Honduras, and amidst global market turmoil and uncertainty, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva agreed yesterday to strengthen trade ties between their nations, which have Latin America's two biggest economies. [more]

TURKEY | Authorities in Istanbul say two leading Turkish journalists were arrested yesterday in connection with investigations into alleged illegalities surrounding the sale of the Flash Haber television news channel. Attorneys for the journalists have denied the charges and say their clients were arrested because of their criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the recent imprisonment of Istanbul’s mayor and Erdogan rival Ekrem Imamoglu. [more]

SOCIAL MEDIA | In testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, former Facebook executive Sarah Wynn-Williams accused the social media company of undermining national security and briefing China on U.S. artificial intelligence efforts. Facebook parent company Meta has denied Wynn-Williams' allegations. [more]

MUSIC ACCOLADES | Among this year's selections for inductions into the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress are: albums from Elton John, Miles Davis, Tracy Chapman, Mary J. Blige, and the cast of “Hamilton," as well as singles “I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar” by Helen Reddy and Celine Dion's “My Heart Will Go On,” and music from the computer game “Minecraft." [complete 2025 induction list] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1866, three years after stopping a carriage driver in Russia from beating his horse, Henry Bergh of the United States founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York City. The ASPCA went on to become one of the largest organizations dedicated to halting cruelty to animals. [more history]